A Revolutionary Friendship

The first full account of the relationship between George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, countering the legend of their enmity while drawing vital historical lessons from the differences that arose between them.

Martha Washington’s worst memory was her husband’s death. Her second worst was Thomas Jefferson’s awkward visit to pay respects to his estranged friend. Yet this estrangement has obscured the fact that for three decades prior, the two men enjoyed a productive relationship. Precisely because they shared so much, their disagreements have something important to teach us.

While Washington favored a traditional aristocracy, Jefferson preferred a more meritocratic approach whereby elites would vie for elected office on the basis of education and skills. And while Washington emphasized strong central government, Jefferson sought to diffuse power across the states. Still, as Francis Cogliano argues, common convictions equally defined their relationship: a passion for American independence and republican government, as well as commitments to commerce and westward expansion. Both men also developed skeptical views of slavery, even as they did little to abolish it.

The differences between the two statesmen mirrored political fissures of the early United States, as the unity of the revolutionary moment gave way to competing visions for a new nation. A Revolutionary Friendship captures the dramatic and unsettling reality that there was no single founding ideal—only compromise between friends and rivals.